Cavanagh expects Armagh and Galway to battle for Sam

Armagh and Galway are the frontrunners for All-Ireland glory, according to former Tyrone star Seán Cavanagh.

Armagh proved victorious in last year's final, defeating Galway by a single point in the Croke Park clash, and with both sides avoiding each other in the quarter-finals, a repeat meeting remains on the cards.

Cavanagh was responding to a question regarding Tomás Ó Sé suggesting that six of the eight remaining teams could win Sam Maguire, and the three-time winner went one better by stating that all-bar Meath could win it.

But on further interrogation, it became evident that Cavanagh sees the title staying in the Orchard County, or heading west across the Shannon.

"I think you could actually make an argument, I think seven of the eight would fancy their chances, if I'm honest," said Cavanagh.

"I don't think it would have been in Meath’s chats at the start of the year that they could win Sam Maguire. I think Leinster was always probably going to be their target.

"But I think the other seven teams there right now, they'll be talking about the potential to win Sam. Tomás was probably trying to talk it up, but I'm going to try and talk it up a bit more than that."

The All-Ireland champions remain the team to beat, according to Cavanagh, who is in awe of the quality and depth of the Armagh squad, and their application and endeavours on the pitch.

Armagh had five points to spare against Dublin in the round-robin clash

They take on Kerry on Sunday at HQ, and while Cavanagh is not ruling out the possibility of David Clifford inspiring his side to victory, the Moy man believes that the Kingdom have become too reliant on his contributions, and that Armagh will have too much on this occasion.

"I've watched a few Kerry games, and while last weekend, their defence and their press looked a bit tougher, they were very open against Cork in the group stages.

"They've had their injury concerns, they're very vulnerable, and they're coming up against a team that has probably 25 players that could play on Sunday, and it wouldn’t change the level of their performance.

"I think Armagh have brought a consistency in the standards that certainly I wasn't expecting. I always felt the years after we won an All-Ireland, we started to run out of gas a little bit, and even psychologically, we started to show signs of tiredness.

"Armagh haven't shown anything like that because they're able to drop in five or six guys that are freshening the team up.

"Right now, Armagh is the team to beat. I think Kerry's reliance on David Clifford, in particular, is still there and I think Armagh will relish trying to stop him.

"I think it's going to take a really big performance from Kerry to try and topple the All-Ireland champions on Sunday afternoon."

"I don't see too many signs of weakness in Armagh right now, and I'm not convinced Kerry has it in the locker to do that this weekend, unless we get a David Clifford 3-07, which isn't out of the realms of possibility.

"But it just feels, any time I watch Kerry, the reliance on David, it's been the same for the last few years."

Galway beat Armagh by a point when they met in the group phase of the 2025 championship

Cavanagh feels that Galway are about the best side equipped to prove competitive with this Armagh unit, and he expects the Tribesmen to be battling for top honours in this year’s championship.

Galway take on Meath in the first game of Sunday’s Croke Park double-header and Cavanagh expects Pádraic Joyce’s side to progress.

"The fact that they've hung in there and with all their injury problems, and all they've got on going on there, they've looked really strong to me," said Cavanagh, when asked of Galway’s chances.

"I think personnel wise, it's still them and Armagh and I wouldn't be overly surprised to see another Armagh-Galway final.

"The fact that (Matthew) Thompson's come in, and that forward line didn't really need much adding to, if I'm honest, and the likes of Céin Darcy around midfield has been incredible. Peter Cooke was a phenomenal player a few years ago, and he's now coming into the games now as well.

"It feels to me that whoever beats Galway could win this All-Ireland. That's where my head's at right now. They'll take a fair bit of stopping."

Cavanagh did not quite put his own county into the mix of winning this year’s championship, however, he does feel that Tyrone might have a performance in them as they meet Dublin on Saturday, following the Monaghan versus Donegal encounter.

Cavanagh feels that despite the relegation in the league, that football could be on the way up in Tyrone, backed up by the fact that their Under-20 side have won back-to-back championships, while the minors have reached this year’s decider.

"With the signs of life and energy that Malachy (O’Rourke) has injected back into the team, a few new faces and a bit of momentum with underage, it does feel that, as a county, we've got a bit of momentum heading back in the right direction," he said.

"Dublin are the Man United of the GAA, they are the box office team, they have been an incredible team for so long now and they've been the benchmark.

"But I think we're ready to stand up, and if we come on Saturday night and we beat the Dubs, and we make an All-Ireland semi-final. I think, as a county, we're back heading in the right direction."

Watch two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry, from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

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